We recorded electroretinograms (ERGs) under stimulus conditions
that only modulated one cone type: either the L- or the M-cones.
In these conditions the rods were also modulated. We measured
the ERG responses at different temporal frequencies. A simple
model that assumes that the first harmonic components of the
responses are the result of a vector addition of rod- and
cone-driven ERG responses can explain the data satisfactorily
for temporal frequencies at and above 6 Hz. From fits of the
model to the data, estimates of the gains and phases of the
rod- and cone-driven responses can be obtained. At 6 Hz, the
fundamental responses originate exclusively in the rods. The
gains of the cone-driven responses are substantial at the other
temporal frequencies, are maximal at 12 or 18 Hz, and then decrease
with increasing temporal frequencies. The gains of the rod-driven
responses decrease more steeply with increasing temporal
frequencies than the cone gains. Furthermore, the rod and cone
phases decrease approximately linearly with temporal frequency,
suggesting that they are mainly determined by a response delay.
The response delay in the rod-driven ERGs is larger than in
the cone-driven ERGs.